


Your Lips are a Work of Art

by Emmybazy



Series: Commuter Cake [5]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: All of these tags only kind of apply, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Commuter Fic, M/M, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:17:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2409758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmybazy/pseuds/Emmybazy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calum gets out of class early and it's raining. He doesn't have an umbrella. Luke does. </p><p>Or; Calum and Luke take the subway home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Lips are a Work of Art

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Woo! Part 5! I am slowly chugging along with this series. Give me a week-ish to post Luke's perspective on this part. And then there will be one more, hopefully longer (4-6k is the aim) section and then it'll be over. I'm hoping to have it all finished by the time I post the last chapter to Vegas Love Affair on November 1st.
> 
> Hope everyone likes this! I added rain for dramatic effect (aka awkward tall boys under umbrellas is probably one of my new favorite things).
> 
> I do not own 5sos. They are far above my pay grade.

Calum runs out of his class with a smile on his face. In the middle of Microeconomics 236, he got an email from his teacher for his night class saying that they weren’t meeting because she had an emergency. Which is fantastic for Calum, even if it’s probably not so good for her.

Calum rushes to the subway stop so he can get home at a reasonable hour, maybe watch some TV and get a good dinner before starting some of his homework. None of it’s really due until next Monday, so he’ll most likely end up on the couch longer than he’s planning. But hey, he’s going home early, he deserves a little time to himself.

He snags a spot on the subway towards home. It’s a bit crowded since it’s around rush hour time. All the stuffy business people with their 9 to 5 jobs are crowding into the trains as tight as they possibly can. Calum could never do a job like that, a job that he didn’t want to stay late and work harder. What’s the point in working if it’s not something you love?

He’s zoning out, listening to his playlist, when Luke gets on. Calum wouldn’t have paid the stop any particular interest except for the fact that he saw a high blonde quiff jump on the train. Calum peeks up over the crowds of people and sees Luke squished at the opposite end of the car. Calum smiles to himself, not able to stop his lips from twitching up. Luke’s staring at the bar where his longer fingers are gripped, keeping him steady. Calum tries to get Luke’s attention but it’s no use, he’ll just have to catch him in the station.

Calum’s starting to really like Luke. After their conversation yesterday, he thinks maybe Luke’s kind of into him too. The problem is that their conversations are always so brief. If Calum could just get him alone for a length of time, things would be so much easier.

When the train stops, Calum darts out of the sliding doors and heads down the train to the doors Luke’s walking through. Luke still hasn’t seen him. He’s just keeping his head down with his eyes darting around to weave through the people.

“Luke!” Calum calls after him, pushing through the crowds to get to Luke. Luke must hear him because he turns towards Calum. Luke’s eyes widen in shock when he sees Calum walking over and then his face melts into a smile.

Luke stops, a bad decision in the busy station, and waits, “Hey Calum.”

Calum trots up next to Luke. It takes quite a bit of effort to push past people. Calum looks over his shoulder to see why he can feel someone so close to his bag before turning to Luke. “I hate it when the trains are packed like that.”

Luke shrugs, “Normal rush hour. Do you not normally take the train now?”

Calum shakes his head as they fall into stride with the people walking towards the entrance. They slow up a bit while others scoff and brusquely pass them. “No, my last class got cancelled today.”

Luke bumps his shoulder against Calum’s, “That’s great.” 

Calum nods, “Yeah, it’ll be nice to have an early night in. The class is seven to nine so I usually don’t get home until ten.”

“That’s a long day.” Luke says. There’s no one behind them now, the mad rush having already exited the station, so they take the steps up to street level slowly. Luke and Calum stay close on the stairs, trying to match each other's pace to have their conversation. 

“It’s fine, I’ve only got to do it twice a week so that’s cool.” Calum says, wondering what Luke's days look like. As they reach the top of the steps, standing under the little awning, Calum realizes that it’s raining. “Shit.”

“What?” Luke asks, stopping next to Calum. His eyes are so caring, focused on Calum. Calum doesn’t understand why Luke does that. Calum’s not special, he’s kind of funny, sort of attractive, a bit smart, but he’s not the type of full out amazing that Luke should be focusing on. Calum almost feels like he tricked Luke somewhere along the line. Why else would Luke be so interested in a college student who answers calls and gets beer spilled on him for a living?

“Forgot my umbrella.” Calum shrugs.

Luke furrows his eyebrows, like the meaning of 'umbrella' is new to him. He shocks out of it a second later, reaching into his leather bag and pulling out an umbrella. “Here, borrow mine.” Luke extends his hand, holding the umbrella out to Calum.

Calum shakes his head, “No, I’ll be fine.” Luke grins and keeps his hand out stretched, shaking the umbrella a bit at Calum, offering it up. Calum wants to giggle but quickly turns it into a more sophisticated chuckle. “Seriously Luke, I don’t need it. Besides, your bag will get ruined if you don’t keep it out of the rain.”

Luke looks down at his bag and then quirks an eyebrow at Calum, “You’re wearing a leather jacket.”

Calum looks down. He is, in fact, wearing a leather jacket. He’d forgotten. He had decided to wear it again this morning since it seemed to be a good move the day before. “It’s fine, I’ll put it in my back pack.”

“Wait, Calum,” Luke grins like they’re stupid, “I’ll just walk you home. We probably live near each other anyways.”

Calum smirks and crosses his arms over his chest, “Don’t know if I want you to know where I live, random person I met on the subway.” Luke gives in and laughs at that. A woman walking down into the train stop gives them a funny look. They’re probably quite the sight, two twenty something year olds awkwardly flirting with each other at the top of a train stop in the rain.

Calum turns back as Luke opens the umbrella. Calum, curious as to which building Luke lives in that Calum might've passed by a hundred time, asks, “Where do you live?”

Luke pauses. He blinks at the umbrella a few times and then looks at Calum, “Where do you live.”

“I asked first.”

Luke sighs, “If I live in the opposite direction from you, will you still let me walk you home?”

Let? Let Luke walk Calum home? Luke can walk Calum home when ever the fuck he wants. Hell, Luke can come home with Calum whenever the fuck he wants. But Luke seems to be genuine, afraid that Calum might ban Luke from walking with him, and Calum decides to make a game of it, “Maybe.”

Luke pouts a bit, “I really don’t mind.”

“Sure?” Calum grins and leans against the side of the small covered shelter at the top of the stairs.

“Yes.”

“Then which direction do you live in?” Calum asks. He could stay here with Luke all night, doing the silly banter thing until the rain stops and they can run through puddles to get home.

Luke crosses his arms and leans up next to Calum, mirroring Calum’s pose, “I don’t see how that’s relevant.” He shrugs, and unimpressed look on his face, but Calum watches the corners of his mouth to see the slightest quirk.

They sit for a minute, like it’s a game to see who can move first. Calum eventually gives in before the silence gets awkward and one of them gets frustrated, “Fine, let’s go.”

Luke raises a fist in victory and smiles at Calum as he raises the umbrella and steps out into the rain, “Where to?”

Calum darts out to stand under the umbrella with Luke. It’s a small umbrella. The only way it covers them both is if Luke stands close behind Calum. Luke’s face is over Calum’s left shoulder as they walk to Calum’s apartment complex, Luke trailing behind. It all feels a little tense. Luke’s practically molded to Calum’s back. A part of Calum wants to reach back for Luke’s hand and draw it up to Calum’s waist. He could pass it off as wanting to make sure they both fit under the umbrella even though both of them would know what it really meant. So Calum decides against it but notices how Luke seems to get a fraction closer as they walk.

“Do you live by yourself?” Luke asks, his breath hitting the side of Calum’s neck.

“No, two roommates. They're friends of mine from college.”

“Oh,” Luke says, sounding mildly surprised, “What’s that like?”

“Living with people?” Calum asks, confused.

“Friends. I’ve never lived with friends before, I hear it can be rough.” Calum can almost feel Luke shrug against his back.

“I’ve heard that too, but I don’t know why. We made it work. People warned me before I moved in that it would be a bad idea but it’s great. We sit and mess around on our guitars sometime and pretend we’re a band. It’s nice.” They’ve reached a corner and Calum takes a right, pulling Luke behind him with a hand to the wrist holding the umbrella, “Do you live alone?”

“Yeah, I’ve had really bad roommates in the past. It’s just easier to have my own place.”

They’ve reached Calum’s building entrance so he turns to face Luke, “Sure it’s not you who’s the bad roommate?”

Luke grins but pretends to be affronted, “I am a great roommate. I don’t snore. I clean up after myself.” Luke lists things out and counts them on his free hand.

Calum laughs, “Must be them, then.” He grins at Luke, feeling like he’s breaking some sort of stillness. Their faces are close together, noses almost touching. Calum really wants to kiss Luke, but they haven’t known each other all that long so he crosses his arms in front of himself, putting some space between them, and says, “This is me.” Calum nods his head towards the entrance of the building.

Luke’s grin falters, “Good. My diabolical plan to find out where you live worked.”

It’s funny but Calum doesn’t laugh, just nods his head, “Thanks for this. See you tomorrow Luke.”

Luke nods, “Bright and early.”

Calum claps the top of Luke’s arm in a weird good bye and darts to his front doors. There’s an awning over the door so he’s out of the rain. Calum sets his back pack down to get his keys out of the front pocket, but he notices that Luke is still standing on the street. Calum looks up and shoots him a puzzled look, “Do you want me to tip you or something?”

Luke laughs at that, loud and bright, before regaining his composure, “No, just...don’t want you to see where I live.”

Calum digs through the front pocket of his bag, searching for his key chain, “What? Do you live across the street or something?”

Luke rocks on the balls of his feet. The rain isn’t that loud, jut a light pitter patter, but they still have to raises their voices a bit. “No.”

Calum finds his keys and stands up straight. Luke has this odd look on his face, a cross between amused and guilty, “Do you live back towards the stop?” Luke looks down at the ground and dabs at a puddle with his foot. The words he says are unintelligible to Calum. “I can’t hear you.”

“Maybe.” Luke says a little louder.

Damn he looks so good. Calum doesn’t understand how it’s even possible that someone can be that attractive and cute at one time. Calum can’t help but smile, standing his ground, and leaning up against the door frame. He knows Luke takes it as the challenge that it is because he grins back, hand in the pocket of his trousers as he stands in the rain.

“Are you going home any time soon?” Calum asks after a few seconds.

“No, I like the rain.” Luke responds. To emphasize his point, he kicks a puddle.

“You know, my downstairs neighbor is very suspicious. Wouldn’t be surprised if she called the cops on a strange man standing in front of her building.” It’s a total lie. Mrs. Mckee is a sweetheart and would probably offer Luke a cup of hot cocoa if she saw him. Luke smiles wide at that. Calum takes a second to be thankful because this is incredible. Luke, this beautiful, funny, and nice person, is just standing in the rain outside his front door. How lucky can a guy get?

Since Calum gave up during their first stand off, Luke seems to take the hit this time. He sighs, over exaggerated, and waves, “Bye Calum.” He spins and heads back towards the train stop.

Calum feels overwhelmed for a second. He was just walked home, even though it was out of the way, by a boy who he really likes. It’s flooring. It all feels a bit too perfect. Something in Calum stirs and he's got to do something. It's like there's more words on the back of his tongue that he needs to say to Luke and he can't let Luke go before he says them.

Calum rips off his jacket, throwing it on top of his back pack, “Luke!” Luke turns to look at Calum but Calum is already jogging down the sidewalk to get to Luke. Luke looks shocked for a moment, but then takes a few steps forward to meet Calum under the umbrella.

“You’re all wet now,” Luke says, but he’s grinning, a smile wide across his face. He moves the umbrella so it’s covering Calum even more.

Calum shrugs, “It’s only water.”

Luke looks expectantly at Calum. Calum is the one who ran out into the rain to stop Luke, so it makes sense that Luke would expect he had to say something. The problem is that Calum wasn’t really thinking logically when he ran out, he just did it because it felt right. Calum racks his mind for something smooth to say but all he can come up with is, “Thanks for walking me home. Since it was out of your way.”

Luke looks down at the ground, biting his lip ring, “You're welcome.” His bright blue eyes flick back up to meet Calum’s, as if to ask _so what exactly are you doing?_

Calum has no idea what he’s doing. He just...he doesn’t meet people like Luke every day. He doesn’t know if he’s ever met a person like Luke. So he decides to be a bit crazy.

Calum leans forward and presses a light kiss to Luke’s mouth. He stays just long enough for Luke to react and to not push away. Calum keeps his hands in his own pockets and his wet body away from Luke’s. The only connection is the touch of their lips. Luke seems to get the hint, that this is soft and sweet, just a few light presses before Calum pulls away.

Calum watches as Luke’s eyelids flicker open. Luke’s grinning, this weird mix between smug and gleeful. Calum takes that as a good sign. Calum, still at a loss for words, whispers, “See you tomorrow.”

Calum runs back to his apartment, grabbing his bag and jacket with the momentum. He can feel the smile on his face, knows Mikey and Ashton will give him shit for it if they’re home right now. Calum turns back to look and see if Luke is still there or walking away. Who knows, maybe Luke is disgusted and Calum kissing him broke him out of the trance of liking Calum. In that case, Luke's probably running in the opposite.

 Luke is standing on the sidewalk in the same place where Calum left him. He’s holding onto the umbrella with two hands. Luke looks up to catch Calum’s eye. Luke waves good bye and smiles before turning and walking away. Calum’s just glad to see that the whole situation didn’t blow up in his face.

It’s not until Calum’s half way up the stairs that he realizes, yet again, that he neglected to get Luke’s number. This time it doesn’t seem as bad, he’ll just have to get it tomorrow. Calum's wet clothes stick to his body and a chill runs down his back. The cold he'll probably catch is definitely worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ...I oddly don't really have anything to say here.
> 
> I'm at emmybazy.tumblr.com if anyone is interested.


End file.
